Ship-speed indicator.



L. J'. HEATHGOTE.

SHIP SPEED INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APILZS, 1911. 1 ,020,98() Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

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SHIP SPEED INDICATOR.

APPLIOATION FILED 11113.28, 1911.

1,020,980. Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

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UNTTED sTATEs PATENT oEEioE.

LEWIN J. HEATHCOTE, 0F BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

SHIP-SPEED INDICATOR.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, LEwiN J. HEATHCOTE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Baltimore, in the State of Maryland, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Ship-Speed Indicators, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to indicators for moving bodies and hasparticular reference to an indicator for ships.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved simple,inexpensive and reliable indicator for ships, launches and the likewhich will enable the speed and draft of the ship to be determined at aglance.

Another object is to provide an improved indicator which willautomatically adjust itself when the ship passes from fresh to saltwater or vice versa and thus maintain an accurate indication of thespeed or draft of the ship.

Another object is to provide an improved construction of indicatormechanism that may be readily placed at any desired place on board ship.

A further object is to provide an improved indicator having a dial and apointer movably sustained and independent of each other with means toautomatically move the dial according to the draft of the ship and withindependent means to .move the pointer for both variations in the draftand variations in the speed of the ship.

Vith these and other objects in view the accompanying drawingsillustrate the invention, wherein,-

Figure 1, is a side elevation of the front or forward part of a ship towhich my improved indicator is attached. Fig. 9. is an enlarged verticalcross-sectional elevation through the ship showing the device inelevation. Fig. 3, is an enlarged vertical section t-hrough the dial andpointer mechanism of the indicator and also through the cylinder, andshows the connection between the floats and said mechanism. Fig. 4, isan enlarged front view of the dial and pointer. Fig. 5, is a verticalsection through the indicator casing,-the section being taken on theline 5 5- of Fig. 3, and Fig. 6, is a side elevation of the front andrear portions of a launch,-the intermediate portion being broken away toshow a modified form of 4 the invention.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed April 28, 1911.

Patented Mar. 26, 1912.

Serial No. 623,841.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, l, designates the hull of theship, which latter in the present instance is illustrated as aSteamship, but which may be a sailing vessel or a launch.

The dial and pointer mechanism may be located at any suitable or desiredpoint, but is preferably placed in the wheel house, which is designated,2, in the drawing. The means for actuating the dial and pointer islocated in the hull and in the present instance is shown directlybeneath the wheel house and immediately over the keel. This latterlocation is desirable because the connections between the actuatingmeans in the hull and the indicating mechanism in the wheel house may bemore readily made and the intervening transmission means thussimplified. It is also desirable that the actuating means be low in thehull because it is necessary to admit water from the exterior incarrying out my invention, to determine the draft and speed andtherefore connections must be made to the exterior below the water line.

In carrying out the invention I provide two cylindrical receptacles, 3,and, 4, respectively in the hull and from the lower end of cylinder, 3,a pipe, 5, extends forward and passes through the wall of the hull sothat its end, G, may be exposed on the exterior and below the water lineindicated by the numeral 7, thus allowing water to pass from theexterior through said pipe and into the cylinder, 3. The cylinder, 4, isalso provided with a pipe, 8, which latter extends laterally from thelower end thereof and substantially at right angles to pipe, 5, and saidpipe, 8, passes through and has an end, 9, that is exposed on theexterior of the hull so as to allow water to seek its level in thecylinder, 4. The cylinder, 3, has a float, 10, therein while cylinder,4, is also provided with a float, 11, and both of these floats aresuiiciently free in the cylinders to permit them to rise and fall withthe water that sustains them and which is admitted through the pipes, 5,and, 8, respectively from the exterior. It will thus be seen that' whenthe ship is at rest the floats, 10, and 11, will assume horizontalpositions in the cylinders on a level with the water level on theexterior of the hull and by this means may be made to assume positionsthat collar,

indicate the draft of the ship. Obviously, as the draft varies byincreasing or diminishing the load or when the ship has passed fromfresh into salt water or vice versa, the

floats will rise or fall accordingly.

In carrying out my invention I make use of the rise and fall of thefloats, 10, and, 11, to indicate the speed and draftI of the vessel,-itbeing understood that as the ship moves forward the pressure of wateraty the front end, 6, of pipe, 5, will be conveyed to the cylinder, 3,and effect an elevation of the fioat, 10, therein and that the fasterthe ship moves the greater will be that pressure and consequently thewater in cylinder, 8, will be elevated above the water level on theexterior of the ship. At the same time the level of water in thecylinder, 4, remains substantially the same as the level on the exteriorof the ship because the end, 9, of pipe, 8, is not subject to thepressure like the end, 6, of pipe, 5.

In the wheel house, 2, or at any other convenient place, I provide anindicator mechanism which I have found be constructed in manydifferentways, but in the present instance the form illustratedcomprises a suitable casing, 12, having suitable supports, 13, and, 14,respectively which extend crosswise thereof and are rigid therein. Thesesupports sustain a short horizontal shaft, 15, and a pulley, 16, iscarried on said shaft between said supports and is rigidly secured tothe shaft by means of a set screw, 17. The periphery of the pulley, 16,is preferably grooved, which however is not essential, and a band orwire, 18, extends about the periphery and depends therefrom,-thedepending portion extending in any suitable manner and by the aid of anysuitable means, such as idlers or guides, to the upper end of thecylinder, 3, into which it extends and has its lower end connected tothe float, 10, in said cylinder, 3.

The pulley, 16, has a hub, 19, at one side around which a spring, 20, iscoiled and the inner end of this spring is secured to the pulley hubwhile the outer end thereof is attached to an overhanging projection onthe support, 13. The spring, 2 0, is so attached thatwhen the float, 10,in cylinder, 3,

rises the pulleys, 16, will be turned sufficiently to take up andprevent the wire, 1S, from becoming slack,-thu's the pulley will turn inone direction only when the float rises and will move in the otherdirection as the float descends in the cylinder. The pulley, aspreviously explained, is rigid on the shaft, 15, and when turned willalso turn said shaft. The inner end of the shaft has a 21, whichprevents longitudinal movement thereof in one direction through thesupports, 13, and, 14, and the hub of pulley, 16, will prevent saidshaft from moving in the other direction.

A pulley, 22, of same diameter as pulley, 16, is mounted freely on theouter end of the shaft, 15, and in front of the bearing support, 14, andsaid pulley has a hub which projects toward the support and around whicha spring, 23, is wound. This spring has its inner end attached to thehub of pulley, 22, and its outer end is secured to a projection from thesupport, 14, to draw on the pulley and turn the latter as will presentlybe explained. A wire or band, 24, extends about the periphery of thepulley 22, and depends therefrom and said depending portion is directedand guided in any suitable manner to the cylinder, 4, in which itextends and is connected to the float, 11. It will therefore beunderstood that when float, 11, which may be termed the draft indicatorfloat, rises or falls in the cylinder, 4, the

pulley, 22, will be turned freely on shaft, 15.

The pulley, 22, has a hub portion, 25, at its outer side and a circulardial plate, 26, is secured against the front face ofthe pulley so as toturn with the latter. In the present instance the dial plate isadjustably sustained by means of a clamping collar, 27, which screws onthe hub portion, 25, and presses the dial plate against the pulley. Byloosening the collar the said dial plate may be turned and then clampedagain by tightening the collar. The dial plate has suitableradially-arranged scale lines, 28, on its front flat surface which areso divided as to designate the speed in knots, and the outer end ofshaft, 15, carries a pointer or indicator arm, 29, which is adjustablysecured to said shaft by means of a suitable binding or thumb nut, 30.This pointer or indicator arm will turn with shaft, 15. and pulley, 16,as the float, 10, in speed cylinder, 3, vrises 0r falls, and in turningwill register with one or another of the scale lines on the dialplate,according to the position of the float in said cylinder, 3. The float,10, will assume a position in the cylinder according to the level ofwater therein and this wat-er level is determined by the speed of theship and the pressure created thereby in the pipe, 5. It is to beunderstood that the pipe 5, is very much smaller in diameter tha-n thecylinder, 3, and by this means the variations of pressure in pipe, 5,caused by the waves, unsteady motion of the vessel and otherirregularities, will not be effective in the cylinder, 3, but said pipewill reduce the fluctuations in rise and fall of water in the tanks, 3,and, 4, to a minimum thereby giving a steady indication even though thedevice be placed upon a boat propelled by oars. Pipe, 8, is much smallerthan tank, 4, so as to avoid the fluctuations in cylinder, 4, from sidepressures.

It is understood that the inventive idea here disclosed does notnecessarily require .the dial plate 0r the pointer to be repeatedlyadjusted every time t-he vessel stops as will presently be explained,and the invention is not to be restricted in this respect.

In operation, supposing thc ship to be at rest, the water from theexterior .will pass through pipes, 5, and, 8, into the cylinders, 3,and, 4, until the Water level in the cylinders is the same as that onthe exterior of the hull. This will cause the tloats, l0, and, 11, torise in the cylinders and obviously the pulleys, 1G, and, 22, will turnto take up the slack on the wires, 1S, and, 2l, and While the pointer orindicator arm will be in proper register with the scale lines on thedial plate, the Zero point of the latter will have turned to one sidebecause the pulley, 22, will have turned as the float, ll, is raised. Toreadjust this and set the zero point ofthe dial plate atacentral pointover the shaft merely however for convenience in reading, the lockcollar, 27, will be loosened and the dial plate turned back withoutdisturbing the pulley, 22,-the collar will then be locked again and thedial plate thus set in its adjusted position. To then have the pointeror indicato-r arm conform to the adjustment of the dial plate the nut,30, will be loosened and the pointer turned back Without turning theshaft, 15, until it is made to register with the zero point on the dialplate .whereupon the nut, 30, will again be tightened and the pointerlocked to the shaft, l5. The apparatus is then in condition foroperation. This adjustment is made after the ship is loaded and while atrest and need not to be made again unless desired.

It is obvious that a stationary indicator plate may be employed and thepointer or hand merely adjusted with respect to it before the start ismade, and as long as the ship remained in fresh water, if the adjustmenthad been made in fresh water, or in salt water, if the adjustment hadbeen made while the ship was in salt water, the indicator arm would showthe speed with substantial accuracy, but in the case of a stationaryindicator plate, if the adjustment was made in fresh water and the shippassed into salt water without further adjustment to the plate then thespeed would not be properly indicated because the draft of the shipwould not be as great in sal tI .water as it was in fresh water and theindicator arm would be turned back on the scale or indicator plate andwould thus show a less speed than the ship was actually making. It Willtherefore be seen that if a stationary indicator scale is used anadjustment must. be made thereto when the ship changes from fresh tosalt water or vice versa.

By means of the two cylinders and floats, and the independentconnections with the dial plate and the indicator arm, the travel of theship from fresh to salt water or vice versa, is immaterial to a properindication because a movement imparted to one float as the result of thechange will cause a like movement to be imparted to the other ioat andthe two floats will have the same degree of movement although the 011ein the speed indicating receptacle, 3, may be higher than the float inthe scale indicator receptacle, 4. As the result of the movement of thetwo floats thedial plate and the pointer or indicator arm .willautomatically move together in the same direction and for the samedistance whenever such change of water takes place, thus maintainingtheir corresponding relation and giving a proper indication of the speedby noting the position of the indicator arm with respect to the zeropoint on the scale.

As an example of the modification of the invention, attention isdirected to Fig. (3, of the drawing wherein the hull, 3L of a smallpower boat, such as a launch is shown, and in which l provide acylinder, 32, from which a small pipe, 233, leads from the bottom andextends forward to the bow and has its forward end exposed on theexterior of the hull to convey water to the cylinder. A glass water gagetube, 3ft, is provided on the cylinder' and shows the depth of water inthe cylinder. which when the boat is at rest will show the same as thewater level on the exterior of the hull. A scale bar, 35, is adjustablysecured adjacent to the gage tube so that it may be moved verti -allywith respect to the tube and thus bring the zero point of the scale inregister with the level shown inl the tube when the boat is ready tostart and the draft is known. ln the present instance the scale bar, 35,has a side lug, 3G, which engages a vertical supporting rod, 37, and aset screw, 38, serves to retain the lug and scale bar in the adjustedposition. .ln this modified form the operation is similar to that of thepreferred form of device both employing vertical tanks or pipes showingthe rise and fall of water supplied as a result of pressure through asmall pipe and having adjustable scales. In the preferred form describedthe scale is self-adjusting, while in the latter the scale should bechanged when the vessel has a different draft.

Having thus described my invention what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is,-

l. In a ship speed indicating device the combination with a receptaclehaving a water inlet, a pipe extending from the lower end of thereceptacle and opening through the hull of the ship and pointing in thedirection in which the ship is moving to vary the height of water in thereceptacle according to the speed of the vessel; an indicator device,means for supporting said indicator device and means for adjustablysecuring the indicator device with respect to its support and also withrespect to the height of the water in the receptacle while the ship isat rest and its draft is determined.

2. In a ship speed indicator the combination with a receptacle having awater inlet near its bottom and below the water line, of a float in saidreceptacle; a pipe extending from the said inlet to the exterior of theship and below the water line; an indicator device; means for supportingsaid indicator device; connections between the float and indicatordevice and means for adjustably securing the indicator device withrespect to its support and also with respect to the float.

3. In a ship speed indicator the combination with a receptacle having acomparatively small water inletl from below the water line of the ship,of a Heat in said receptacle; an indicator support; an indicator carriedby said support and having two elements one of which is movable as thespeed of the ship varies; connections between the float and said movableelement of the indicator to move said movable element as the -float ismoved in the receptacle and means for adjustably securing the otherelement of the indicator with respect to its support and according tothe position of the fioat in the receptacle when the ship is at rest.

4. In a ship speed indicator the combination with a receptacle having acomparatively small water inlet at a point below the water line of theship7 of a float in said receptacle; an indicator having an elementmovable according to the speed of the ship and another elementthat ismovable according to the draft of the ship; connections between thefloat and the movable speed element of the indicator and means formoving the other element of the indicator as the draft of the shipchanges.

5. In a ship speed indicator the combination with two receptacles, of afloat in each receptacle; a pipe extending from one receptacle to theexterior of the ship and below the water line and opening in thedirection in which the ship is to move; a pipe fro-m the otherreceptacle and opening at the side of the ship below the water line; anindicator having a movable scale; a movable arm for the indicator;connections between one of said iioats and said arm and connectionsbetween the other of said ioats and the movable indicator scale.

(3. In a ship speed indicator the combination with a rotatable indicatordial; of an arm movable independently of and adjacentto the dial; meansfor moving the dial according to the draft of the ship, and means formoving the arm according to the speed of the ship.

7. In a ship speed indicator the combina tion with a rotatable indicatordial, of an indicator arm movable independently of and adjacent to thedial; a float maintained on a level with the water line of the ship;connections between said float and the rotatable dial; a receptacle; apipe extending from the receptacle and exposed on the exterior of thelatter below the water line; a ioat in said receptacle and connectionsbetween the float in said receptacle and the movable indicator arm formoving the said arm with respect to the dial.

In testimony whereof I aiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

LEVIN J. HEATHCOTE.

Witnesses:

CHARLES B. MANN, Jr., G. FERD. Voer.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

